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Research has shown that exercising your mind contributes to your mental health and well being. While physical activity has been shown to aid in sharpening our minds and recall, simple mental exercises can help us to remain sharp and improve memory as we age.

Try doing this mental exercise over a 4 week period and you should notice an improvement in your short and long term memory.

When you are ready to go to sleep, go over what you did that day from the time you got up until you get into bed. Start with the time you awoke, got out of bed, follow your entire day step by step until the time you went back to bed. Try to recall as much detail as possible, visualizing in your mind each and every step from beginning to end. In the beginning, you probably wont remember much detail, and you’ll probably move rapidly from task to task or think of the day in large periods of time. However, try to slow down and remember as much as you can to take in as much detail as you can. With time and practice, you will notice significant improvement in your recall of events and details throughout the day.

This basic mental exercise has the following benefits:

1. It will improve your memory.

2. Your ability to visualize will improve.

3. You will improve your concentration.

4. You will be more in the moment throughout the day. Because you know you will be recalling your day later, you pay more attention to details throughout the day.

5. Your power of observation will improve. You will probably find yourself during the day performing a modified recall of your day to date because you know that later than night you will be trying to recall it again.

6. You will likely fall asleep faster because your mind will get tired much like counting sheep at night in order to fall asleep.

I am an emergency physician on staff at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, where I have practiced for the past 15 years. I also serve as an adviser and editor to

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I am an emergency physician on staff at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, where I have practiced for the past 15 years. I also serve as an adviser and editor to Medscape Emergency Medicine, an educational portal for physicians, and an affiliate of WebMD. My other time is spent with my private house call practice, DR 911, providing medical care to both travelers and residents in Manhattan. I have a keen interest in medical technology and public health education.